TCS: Neurodiversity-Affirming Occupational and Speech Therapy
Empowering Neurodivergent and Medically Complex Clients in Central Pennsylvania
At TCS, we do therapy differently. Founded and led by an autistic occupational therapist, we are the only Harrisburg-area practice with lived-experience leadership at every level. Our mission is simple: to provide accessible, trauma-informed occupational, speech, and feeding therapy for children and adults, centered around neurodiversity-affirming care, autonomy, and genuine connection. We blend clinical expertise with personal experience, ensuring every client feels seen, respected, and empowered.
Why Families and Adults Choose TCS
- Lived-Experience Leadership: Our founder and Clinical Director, Andrea, brings firsthand understanding of neurodivergence and disability, shaping every aspect of our care. Our diverse Board of Directors helps us stay deeply connected to the real needs and voices of our community.
- Inclusive & Affirming: We prioritize consent, autonomy, and felt safety, creating a welcoming environment for clients of all ages and abilities.
- Expertise in Complex Needs: Our team specializes in supporting clients with autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), chronic pain, and feeding challenges, among other conditions. Our speech therapists have extensive training and experience in gestalt language processing and a variety of AAC, including low tech and high tech options.
- Accessible for All: We proudly accept Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and offer telehealth statewide in Pennsylvania, ensuring therapy is within reach for everyone. We also provide language and sign language interpretation services.
- Community-Focused: As a nonprofit, every dollar goes back into our mission: expanding access, supporting families, and building a more inclusive community.
Our Facility
A completely accessible facility just off of Carlisle Pike in Camp Hill, our comfortable environment features numerous private treatment spaces to suit a variety of needs. Children and adults alike are put at ease by our welcoming environment, which feels like a home.
What Makes TCS Unique?
- Therapy for the Whole Family: We offer pediatric and adult therapy, inclusive preschool, therapeutic groups, and parent coaching – all under one roof.
- Trauma-Informed, Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach: Our care is never one-size-fits-all. We follow the latest research and best practices in trauma-informed and neuroaffirming therapy, ensuring every client feels safe, respected, and understood.
- Community-minded: Everyone deserves access to high quality healthcare. In addition to making our therapy services as accessible as possible, we have free video resources on a variety of topics and we often provide free programs for our community.
Our Occupational Therapists
Andrea Gibson, MS, OTR/L: Founder, Clinical Director
Brenna Shields, MS, OTR/L
Emma Esteves, MS, OTR/L
Marissa Cheah, MS, OTR/LMeet our dedicated occupational therapists. Each is passionate about empowering children and adults to thrive in everyday life. Our team combines advanced clinical expertise with a warm, client-centered approach to help every individual reach their fullest potential. Select a therapist to learn more.
Andrea Gibson, MS, OTR/L: Founder, Clinical Director
Andrea is passionate about helping people of all ages discover their strengths and reach their goals, on their own terms. As an autistic adult with lived experience of hEDS, POTS, and MCAS, she understands firsthand the challenges and joys of navigating neurodivergence and complex medical needs. This perspective deeply informs her work, shaping a practice that is both compassionate and practical.
Andrea specializes in supporting neurodivergent children and adults, particularly those with feeding challenges, hypermobility, and dysautonomia. She combines her personal insights with advanced clinical training, including EDS ECHO coursework, extensive training in responsive feeding and trauma-informed approaches, and certifications in Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) and the Safe and Sound Protocol, to offer care that is both evidence-based and empathetic.
Her approach centers on nervous system regulation and creating a sense of safety, always prioritizing what is meaningful to each client. Andrea’s goal is to empower every person she works with to live a life of their own choosing through valuing autonomy, comfort, and possibility.
Andrea is a Pennsylvania-licensed, nationally certified occupational therapist. She holds an M.S. in Occupational Therapy from Misericordia University, an M.A. in International Development and Social Change from Clark University, and a B.S. in Biology from Houghton College. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and has presented at AOTA’s national conference. She is also a member of the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association (POTA).
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Brenna Shields, MS, OTR/L
Brenna has been a part of the TCS Team since 2022 and is passionate about helping people of all ages, from young children to adults, live life to their fullest potential. She specializes in supporting emotional regulation skills, particularly in preschoolers and children who have experienced trauma. She also brings extensive experience working with the adult population in skilled nursing facilities, and at TCS enjoys working with adults navigating chronic pain and complex needs. Brenna is certified in Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) and brings a compassionate, informed approach to every session, whether she’s working with a child or an adult.
Her therapy is client-centered and strengths-based, always focused on what matters most to each person she works with. Brenna values creating a safe, supportive space where clients of all ages feel empowered to grow and thrive.
Brenna is a Pennsylvania-licensed, nationally certified occupational therapist. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences and her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Misericordia University.
Emma Esteves, MS, OTR/L
Emma has always been passionate about working with children and helping them engage and participate fully in all areas of life. She has experience supporting kids of all ages (from infants to young adults) across a variety of settings. Since joining TCS in 2021, Emma has developed a specialty in responsive, trauma-informed feeding therapy, an area she is deeply committed to.
Emma uses a child-led, play-centered approach, helping children build skills while having fun and feeling empowered. She believes that parent and caregiver education and coaching are essential to the therapy process, equipping families with the tools and confidence to support their child’s growth and development at home and beyond.
Marissa Cheah, MS, OTR/L
Our Speech-Language Pathologists
Emily Harvey, MS, CCC-SLP
Megan McShea, MS, CCC-SLP
Valerie Chapman-Jones, MS, CCC-SLP
Sophia Deaner, MS, CCC-SLPGet to know our speech-language pathologists, who bring a wealth of experience and genuine care to every session. We’re here to support communication, connection, and confidence for clients of all ages, using evidence-based, neurodiversity-affirming practices. Select a therapist to learn more.
Emily Harvey, MS, CCC-SLP
Megan McShea, MS, CCC-SLP
Valerie Chapman-Jones, MS, CCC-SLP
Sophia Deaner, MS, CCC-SLP
Sophia (Ms. Sophie) is passionate about celebrating and enhancing all the different ways humans communicate—whether through speech, AAC, or any other meaningful form of expression. She joined TCS in 2024 and brings experience supporting children and young adults from birth through age 22 across a variety of settings, including: early intervention, preschool, school-age programs, autistic support classrooms, life skills and complex needs programs, and multiple disabilities support.
Our Thrive Preschool Teacher
Amanda Welty
Amanda is a Pennsylvania Level II certified teacher with experience teaching ages 0-16 in public school, cyber, and childcare settings. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Penn State and a Masters of Science in Education from Wilkes University. She has over 15 years of experience working with neurodivergent and disabled children, including her own son.
Amanda believes in a whole-child, play-based, and child-centered approach to education where all types of play and all forms of communication are valued. She enjoys incorporating children’s special interests into their learning experiences, along with music, movement, and sensory play. She also believes in the importance of partnering with parents/caregivers as a team to best support each child’s individual development and well-being. She is dedicated to ongoing professional development, and her professional interests include autism and ADHD, universal design, AAC, and trauma-informed teaching practices.
Amanda lives in Mechanicsburg with her husband, 6-year-old son, and rescue dog. In her free time she enjoys arts and crafts, thrift shopping, baking, birdwatching, yoga, the beach, and spending time with her family.